Ledley King may have grabbed the headlines but Boro skipper Gareth Southgate played his part in helping England grab a draw in Portugal last night.

Spurs defender King enjoyed an impressive international debut in Faro, giving his side a 47th minute lead.

But Southgate, the senior partner in the new-look England central defensive pairing, came to the rescue early in the second half, clearing the ball off the line after an error by keeper David James.

Portugal eventually equalised on 68 minutes, when Pauleta curled a free-kick over the England wall and into the net.

Southgate's club-mate Danny Mills was also given the opportunity to grab a place in the squad for Euro 2004 when Sven-Goran Eriksson brought him on in place of Phil Neville at half-time.

The England manager had words of praise for his centre-back pairing.

He said: "If you talk about individual players, then of course there was Ledley King, who came in late but had an excellent performance.

"He showed that he's ready for big international games in a position that he hasn't played in for some time.

"He scored a goal so it could not have gone any better for him. He also did well alongside Gareth Southgate."

Eriksson was typically vague when asked if King had a chance of making a return trip to Portugal for Euro 2004.

With Sol Campbell and John Terry certain to be selected, and Jonathan Woodgate and Gareth Southgate also expected to be picked, the Spurs man must still be regarded as a long shot to travel.

Eriksson said: "It's too early to say (if he'll be picked), but he's an option, for sure. After this performance, he's closer to the squad than he was before."

One player who failed to impress was David Beckham, who was asked to play on the right of midfield after establishing himself in the centre for Real Madrid.

He said: "They had their chances but so did we and we played some good football at times. They've got some very skilful players and we've had a good workout.

"It's another good result really - but the important games come in the summer."

Regarding his role in the team, he added: "It was weird being back out on the wing but it's something I'm going to have to do, because that's my position for England and it's different from Real Madrid.

"But if it's got to be done it's got to be done. Anyone would give their right arm to play in the England team, so I'm happy wherever I play."